[A comparative study of viscoelasticity between normal cornea and keratoconus]

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Biomechanical Engineering
• Medical Imaging Analysis

Background:

• Understanding in vivo corneal mechanical properties is crucial for studying corneal diseases.
• Finite element methods are increasingly used to analyze corneal biomechanics.
• Keratoconus is a progressive thinning and ectasia of the cornea.

Purpose of the Study:

• To calculate and compare the elastic (E) and viscous (η) coefficients of normal and keratoconus corneas.
• To evaluate the predictive capability of these mechanical properties for keratoconus diagnosis.
• To assess the clinical value of E and η in early keratoconus detection and prevention of post-operative complications.

Main Methods:

• Utilized corneal visualization scheimpflug technology to obtain corneal data.
• Employed a standard linear solid model to calculate elastic (E) and viscous (η) coefficients under pulse pressure.
• Performed Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to determine diagnostic accuracy.

Main Results:

• A statistically significant difference (P < 0.05) was observed in both E and η between normal and keratoconus corneas.
• The Area Under the Curve (AUC) for E was 0.776, for η was 0.895, and for their combined indicators was 0.948.
• These results indicate that E and η are reliable indicators for predicting keratoconus.

Conclusions:

• The study demonstrates that keratoconus corneas exhibit distinct mechanical properties compared to normal corneas.
• Elastic (E) and viscous (η) coefficients derived from scheimpflug imaging show high accuracy in predicting keratoconus.
• These findings offer valuable insights for the early clinical diagnosis of keratoconus and prevention of post-operative issues.